Qudratullah Shahab قدرت الله شہاب | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1917-02-26)26 February 1917[1] Gilgit,British India (now in Pakistan) |
| Died | 24 July 1986(1986-07-24) (aged 69) Islamabad, Pakistan |
| Resting place | Grave No 68 plot No 25 near Gate No 2 H-8 Graveyard,Islamabad |
| Occupation | Writer Civil servant Diplomat |
| Nationality |  British Indian (1917–1947) Pakistani (1947–1986) |
| Notable works | Shahab Nama |
| Spouse | Iffat Shahab (died inCanterbury on 17 June 1974, aged: 42)[2] |
| Parents | Abdullah Sahib (father) |
Qudrat Ullah Shahab (orQudratullah Shahab,Urdu:قدرت ﷲ شہاب; 26 February 1917 – 24 July 1986) was an eminentUrdu writer, civil servant and diplomat fromPakistan.
Shahab holds the distinction of having served as thePrincipal Secretary to three heads of state; Governor GeneralGhulam Muhammad, PresidentIskander Mirza, and PresidentAyub Khan. He went on to serve as the Ambassador of Pakistan to theNetherlands in 1962 and later asInformation Secretary of Pakistan andEducation Secretary of Pakistan.[1]
Shahab was born inGilgit on 26 February 1917.[3] His father,Abdullah Sahib, belonged to thePunjabiArain tribe ofChamkaur Sahib village, district Ambala, and was a student atMuhammadan Anglo-Oriental College and aprotégé under the supervision ofSir Syed Ahmed Khan. Abdullah Sahib later migrated fromAligarh and settled inGilgit.[4]
Shahab first rose to prominence when, at 16, an essay he penned was selected for the first prize in an international competition organized by theReader's Digest, London, and, in 1941, for being the first Muslim fromJammu and Kashmir qualifying for theIndian Civil Service.[5]
During theBengal famine of 1943, he volunteered to help the local community while he was serving as magistrate atNandigram, but was criticized by the authorities because he shared the strategic food reserves with the starving locals.[6]
Shahab moved toKarachi, Pakistan, following the1947 partition and took charge as Under-Secretary (Import and Export), Ministry of Trade, of the newly-formed independent state. He also served as the first Secretary General (later the position was renamed as Chief Secretary) of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir government. He wasdeputy commissioner ofJhang as well. He served as Secretary to three heads of state. Later, he served asAmbassador of Pakistan to Netherlands andEducation Secretary Of Pakistan before resigning from the services during theYahya Khan period. He was behind many government schemes launched for the benefit of writers and intellectuals.[1][7]
Shahab himself published in English andUrdu languages for contemporary newspapers and magazines ofPakistan Writers' Guild, founded atKarachi in January 1959.[8][7]
Shahab's essayMaaji poetically outlines the simplicity of his mother and the relationship that his parents shared, detailing migration, governorship, family dynamics, and death in a short chapter.[9]
He is best known for his autobiographyShahab Nama.[1][10]
The real disclosure came in the final chapter ofShahab Nama that alluded to an out-of-world personality whom he used to callNinety[11] as hisspiritual guide. AfterShahab Nama published, which was actually after Shahab's death,Mumtaz Mufti wrote his autobiography,Alakh Nagri, and openly discussed the hidden traits of Shahab's life. Mufti wrote in the foreword of the book:
Since Shahab has opened his own secrets in the last chapter ofShahab Nama, I find no reason not to share experiences which I witnessed about the mysticism of Shahab
— English translation of the original text inUrdu
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Shahab died on 24 July 1986 inIslamabad and is buried inH-8 Graveyard, Islamabad, Pakistan.[3][1][7]
Mumtaz Mufti made him the subject of his autobiographyAlakh Nagri and later dedicated another bookLabbaik.Bano Qudsia, a veteranUrdu writer, wrote a bookMard-e-Abresham on Shahab's personality. A collection of essays about Qudrutullah Shahab has been compiled in a book,Zikr-e-Shahab.[10]
On 23 March 2013, Pakistan Post issued a stamp with denomination of Rs. 15 under theMen of Letters series in the honour of Qudratullah Shahab.[3]
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